Machine for sealing envelops.



A. F. ROBERTS. l MACHINE FOR SEALING ENVELOPS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1907.

926,827. Patented July 6, 1909.

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Patented July 6, 1909.

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A. F. ROBERTS. MACHINE PoR SBALING ENVBLOPS.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 17, 1907. 926,827.

Patented July 6, 1909.

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A. F. ROBERTS.

MACHINE FOR `SEALIN G ENVELOPS. APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 17, 1901.

926,827. Patented July 6, 1909.

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v APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1907. 926,827. Patented July 6, 1909.

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A. F. ROBERTS.

MACHINE FOR SEALING ENVELOPS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1907.

926,827. Patented yJuly 6, 1909.

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` A. F. ROBERTS. MACHINE POB SELLING ENVELOPS.

926,827. nPLIouIon nun :un 17, l19o". Patented July 6 1909. l2nanna-ssrn! 1.

ALBERT FfROBERTS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR SEALING ENVELOPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led .Tune 17, 1907.

Patented July 6, 1909.

Serial No. 379,368.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Sealing Envelops,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of machines for sealingenvelops, and it is an improvement on the atent granted to me on the28th day of ay, 1901, and num bered 675,111.

The present invention embodies means for feeding the envelopsautomatically from a pile thereof, so that the machineis moretrulyautomatic than my patented machines.

The invention also embodies other features of improvement which arefully set forth below and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, inwhich latter Figure 1 is a plan of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is afront elevation artly broken away. Fig. 3 is a section on t e line 3 3of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an elevation of one end. Fig. 5 is a section on theline 5-5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of the flapmoistener. Fig. 7 is a detail plan of the mechanism for feeding theenvelop over the flap moistener. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of theoperating screw of said envelo feed mechanism. Fig. 9 is a perspectiveof a ortion of the flap moistener mechanism. ig. 10 is a like view ofthe devices by which the envelops are fed from the pile. Fig. 11 is asection on the line 24-24 of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a section on the line12-12 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 13 is a view of one of the cams. Fig. 14 is asection of the drum for elevating the envelops.

In said drawing 25 represents the motor of the machine which may be ofany suitable kind, and which in this instance is an electric motor, and26 is a rheostat for regulating the current. A shaft 27 is driven by themotor and is belted by belt 28 to the ily wheel 29 on shaft 30. lower istaken from shaft 30 by pulley 31 and belt 82 to pulley 33 on shaft 34,and shaft 34 carries a pinion 35 meshing with a gear 36 on shaft 37, andalso a pulley 38 belted by belt 39 to pulley 40 on shaft 41. Throughthese various shafts the moving parts of the machine are actuated.

The envelops to be operated upon are placed in a pile on a platform 42,moving vertically in a three-sided guide-way 43, and impelled upwardlyby a spring winding drum 44 supported on the pivot 45 in a casing 46secured to the platform by de ending legs 47, blocks 48 and braces 49.Tie drum under the power of spring 44i winds up two tapes 50 and 51, onewinding at the bottom and the other at the to of the drum andapproaching the drum rom its opposite sides, and both having their endspassed through the walls of the guide way 43 and properly fastened asseen at 52 in Fig. 2. The tapes are referably passed under rollers orguides 53 1n blocks 48 as shown. By employing the two tapes asillustrated, I support the platform equally at both sides and prevent itbinding in the guide way, and I am also enabled to Wind them both on asingle drum. At the top of the guide way or casing I place plates 54,55, projecting horizontally over the latform and serving to limit the upwar movement of the latter and its pile of envelops. By thisconstruction, the drum winds and unwinds both tapes simultaneously andat the same speed, and the platform is caused to rise as the envelopsare withdrawn one by one from the pile, and to keep the uppermostenvelop pressed up against the stops 54, 55, in position to be drawn offthe pile by the feeding devices next to be described. When filling theplatform with envelops it is moved down by hand to the positionindicated in dotted lines at Fig. 2.

The envelops are placed on the platform 42 with their iiaps 56 uppermostas seen at Fig. 10, so that a reciprocating blade 57 may enter under theflaps and by means thereof carry the envelops ofl the pile one by one ina direction transverse of the envelops and toward the rear of themachine. The blade 57 is attached at one end to a slide 58 riding on theways 59. Said slide receives a backward and forward motion from thelever 60 supported at its lower end on stationary pivot 61, passingthrough a slot 62 in the ever, and the lever is actuated from shaft 37by crank 63 and connecting rod 64. The forward edge of the blade is thinand tilted slightly downward so that it is well adapted to catch underthe points of the flaps, and it is shown at Fig. 10 as having justentered under the flap of the to envelop. The forward movement of the bade carries it against the bend at the edge of the envelop, and thusenables it to move the latter off the pile and up against the ledge 71of the main table 70.

Lest the flap should not have the necessary stiffness to enable theblade to draw it from the pile where it is under some degree of pressurefrom the platform, 1 place over the blade a pressure device adapted toclamp the flap down on the blade at the instant the latter reaches thebend at the edge of the envelop. This device is preferably in the formof a plate 72 of metal of substantially the same length as the blade,and pivoted at its ends in uprights 73 and 74 mounted on the blade, soas to permit it to rock in clamping and releasing the flap. Its forwardedge is turned upward slightly as seen at 75, and it is rocked at propertimes to secure action by it by extending the pivot 76 at the end overthe slide 58, so such end may carry a coiled spring 77 and an arm 78.The spring keeps the edge 75 of the plate in acting position except whenovercome by the arm, and the arm does this when riding on the raised cam79 as shown at Fig. 10. As soon as the arm has passed off the cam in theforward movement of the slide, the acting edge of the plate falls underthe power of the spring and clamps the flap, and continues this actionuntil the envelop is positioned against the ledge 71. At this time theretreat of the slide commences, and in this retreat the arm 78 is liftedenough to release the flap and allow the feeding blade to move out fromunder it by a second cam 80. This cam is in the same vertical plane withcam 79, but it will be noticed that the point of arm 78 is beveled offat the side and that the end of cam 80, which the arm encounters in itsforward movement, is also beveled, so that instead of riding on said camduring the forward movement the arm is simply deflected laterallythereby until it has passed the cam, when a spring 81 forces it backinto the plane of the cam, and thus insures its riding over the camduring the return movement, thus opening the clamp and insuring therelease of the envelop. The arm is pivotally secured to the plate pivot76 to permit this movement around as well as over cam 80, the arm pivotbeing shown at 82 and forked at its upper end to receive spring 81. Thearrows in Fig. 1 show the course of the arm relative to cam 80, and thepin 83 acts to store power in spring 81 when the arm is deflectedlaterally by cam 80.

A plate 84 surrounds the top of the guide way 43 and the stops 54 and 55are attached to it, as is also a guard 85 which extends inward from thefront of the plate over the pile of envelops on platform 42. This guardis located in a plane above the stops 54 and 55, and is thus enabled toenter between the carrying blade 57 and the clamping plate 72 when thoseparts retreat, and it projects far enough to cover the points of theflaps and prevent them from curling up to an objectionable extent whichmight prevent the clamping plate from catching them. In

other words, the guard restrains the flap points from rising too highand insures action on them by the clamping plate, and it will be notedthat such action by the plate takes place as soon as the arm 78 movesoff cam 79, and at about the instant the plate clears the guard.

As the envelop nears the point of delivery in the forward movement ofthe feeding mechanism above described, it passes over a bar 86, havingan inclined upper surface and an abrupt or vertical surface on itsfurther edge, (see Figs. 4 and 10) and when discharged the envelop fallsbehind the abrupt edge, and is thus held against any tendency to returnwith the feeding mechanism. This bar 86 may be adjustable to accommodatedifferent sizes of envelops, its attaching screws 87 passing throughslots 88 in the table 70, as plainly shown. A polished plate 89 ispreferably placed between plate 84 and bar 86.

After the envelop has been positioned on table 70, as above described,and the transversely feeding blade and clamping plate have retreated, itis seized by other feeding devices and carried longitudinally to theflap raising and moistening devices. These longitudinal feeding devicesmay be such as are described in my said patent, to-wit: Two clampingjaws adapted to be opened and closed and having the proper movement tocarry the envelop lengthwise. 1 have shown these jaws at 90 and 91. Theyare formed on the ends of levers 92 and 93, extending up through groovesin the table and pivoted at 94 and 95 respectively to a reciprocatingcarriage 96 moving .longitudinally of the machine and actuated by thefeeding and reversing screw 97 having sprocket wheel 98 and driven bychain 99 from wheel 100 on shaft 34. The levers are joined together by alink 101 located back of the pivot of one and in front of the pivot ofthe other, and under one end of lever 93 is placed a lifting spring 102.Under the other end of lever 93 is the stem 103 of a shoe 104 riding inthe threads of the screw 97, and this stem is made the medium of movingthe carriage 96 by passing it through a boss 105 formed on the carriage.The carriage is supported by and slides upon rods 106 and 107, which areseated at their ends in the framework of the machine.

The screw 97 not only has both right and left hand threads so that itmoves the lever carriage in both directions, but it also is adapted tocause the opening of the jaws 90 and 91. This function is imparted to itby making the thread 109 which carries the levers back to their startingposition after each operation shallower than the thread 108 which causestheir movement in the reverse direction during which they have theenvelops in their control. enters the thread 109 and lifts the end ofle- The shoe rises when it ver 93 so as to open the jaws, and when theshoe enters the deeper thread 108 it falls and allows the spring 102 toclose the jaws upon the envelop.

At 110 is a flap raiser and 111 a moistener connected to a waterreservoir 112 by a passage regulated by a valve the operating stem ofwhich is shown at 113. A removable cap 114 permits the charging ofthereservoir with water. The moistener and reservoir are stationary, andthe fiap raiser is a piece of fiat metal, shaped substantially as shownand. loosely hinged to the end of the moistener, so that its acting edgerests lightly upon the envelop and is rendered sensitive to engage theflap. The metal part 115 of the moistener, back ofthe moisteninvsurface, is adapted to admit the water to alIparts of that surface, aswill be understood. The flap, which is raised by the device 110, movesover the moistener 111, and when the longitudinal movement of theenvelop has ceased, is pressed down into contact with the moistener bysuitable means, which consist preferably of a roller'116 pivoted to aright angle extension 117 of an arm 118 pivoted stationarily in the stud119. This roller presses on the Hap lightly, being impelled therein byits own gravity and that of its `carrying devices, and it is raised whenthe envelop is being moved by the transversely acting envelop feeder 182which moves forward and back under the arm 118, lifting the latterduring its backward movement and holding it raised for a sufficienttime.

The envelop now is ready for the sealing of the flap, which is done bypassing it between the sealing rolls 180 and 181, and this movement isimparted to it by the transversely acting feeding device 182. Thisdevice is actuated at the proper time to push the envelop into the biteof the sealing rolls by the following mechanism: At 183 on shaft 37 is asmall side grooved cam wheel into which enters a pin 184 on a lever 185slotted at 186 to enable it to encircle and be moved transversely onshaft 37. Lever 185 is joined to a second lever 186aL pivoted at itslower end7 and connected at its upper end to a link 187 which is pivotedto a plate 188 depending from the ejector. This plate traverses a slot189 in table 70.

While I have shown what I deem to be the best construction of thevarious devices employed in my machine, it will be understood that I donot wish to be limited thereto ex# ce t in cases where my claimsspecifically ca l for the construction shown.

I claim:

1. The envelop feeding machine provided with means for supporting a pileof the envelops and means for drawing them from the pile, one at a time,consisting of a blade adapted to move under and engage the flaps in suchproximity to the folded edge of the envelop as to prevent their curlingup, and a pressure plate pressing the flaps down upon the blade at thebeginning of the movement imparted by the latter.

2. The envelop sealing machine provided with means for supporting a pileof the envelops and .means for drawing them from the pile, one at atime, consisting of a blade adapted to move under and engage the flaps,a rocking pressure 1plate acting to press the fiaps down upon thefeeding blade at the time of starting the envelops, and means foroperating said plate.

3. The envelop sealing machine provided with means for supporting a pileof the en velops, and means for drawing them from 'the pile one at atime consisting of a blade adapted to'move under and engage the fiaps, arocking pressure-plate for clamping the flaps, an arm projecting fromthe aXis of the plate and capable of moving laterally, and cams forlifting and deflecting said arm, substantially as specified.

4. The combination with the rising platform for the envelops and uponwhich they are positioned with the flaps uppermost, the stops againstwhich the platform lifts the envelops and the mechanism for drawing offthe uppermost envelop, of the guard extending over the points of theflaps, substantially as specified..

5. The combination with the opening and closing jaws of thereciprocating mechanism for feeding the envelops longitudinally, of thereversing feed screw connected to and controlling said jaws and havingone thread shallower than the other to adapt it to open the jaws,substantially as specified.

6. The combination with the opening and closing jaws of thereciprocating mechanism for feeding the envelops longitudinally, of thereversing feed screw connected to and con trolling said jaws and havingone thread shallower than the other to adapt it to open the jaws and ashoe riding in the threads of the screw and carrying motion therefrom tothe jaws, substantially as specified.

7. The opening and closing jaws for feedn ing the enveloplongitudinally, connected by a link in front of the pivot of one andbehind the pivot of the other aw, a spring pressing on one of said jawsand tending to keep them both closed, and a reversing feed screwmechanically connected to the jaws and adapted to overcome said springand open the aws, substantially as specified.

8. The reversing feed screw, having one thread shallower than the other,in combination with a carriage fed thereby, and opening and closingenvelop feeding jaws mounted on the carriage and controlled by the screwsubstantially as specified.

9. The reversing feed screw, having one thread shallower than the other,in combination with the carriage which is fed by the screw, and envelopfeeding jaws supported by the carriage and opened by the screw, andclosed by a spring, substantially as described.

10. The reversingl feed screw having One thread shallower than theother, in combination with a carriage fed by the screw and envelopfeeding jaws su ported by the carriage and controlled by t 1e screw andreceiving therefrom a movement at right angles to the feed movement,substantially as specified.

11. The opening and closing jaws for feeding the envelops lengthwise, ofa reversing feed screw mechanically connected to and controlling thejaws and imparting the feed and return movements to them and alsoserving to open them, substantially as speciiied.

finden? 12. The combination with means for feeding the enveloplengthwise, and means for moistening the flap, of a flap raiserconsisting 20 of a freely hinged sheet of metal 110, a1- ranged parallelwith the path of the envelop substantially as specified.

13. The combination with the mechanism for feeding the envelope from thepile in 25 ALBERT F. ROBERTS.

Witnesses to above signature:

J. M. LE BEAU, HENRY REUTER.

